The Talent
by Cliara Aedai
Summary: Patrick Jane and the CBI arrive at a crime scene to find more than what they expected. Yes, there is a dead body, but there is also 15 year old girl, Ailae, with skills similar to Jane's. He doesn't know her, but she knows him. How, why, and what next?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: ****Hello, here is a new story. I have many ideas for this so if you review I will update. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Mentalist or its characters. I only own Ailae.**

"You don't own me!" the young teenager yelled at her mother through the vast tears streaming down her face.

"And why would you think that? I may not own you with money but I do by the simple fact you are my daughter!" the enraged woman screamed, louder and with more confidence than her daughter.

"You don't even care for me, and I know you never planned on having a child before I came along. In fact, I know you would have kicked me out of home by now if it weren't for the fact that I make you money!" she screamed back, traces of hurt in her voice, her long chestnut curls bouncing with the effort and force of the yell. She breathed deeply, hoping that the argument would soon be over and she could go back to her bed in the caravan. But her mother was not done yet, and Ailae knew there was far worse coming.

"You ungrateful brat! I help you. I have appreciated your weird personality and made something good out of it. You belong at the circus! Your freaky insights and weird ability to understand body language has a place here! It wouldn't anywhere else! Just... Get out of my sight until your next show in three hours. And make sure all your pathetic tear marks are gone."

Ailae almost smiled at these commands. Three hours, she had three hours. Three hours to escape. With that thought, she quickly nodded to her mother and darted inside the caravan.

Their caravan was small and not ideal to be living in, but it moved around with the circus so it had to be mobile. She walked over to the small cupboard beside her bed and took out all her casual clothes, stuffing them into a garbage bag. Ailae glanced at her performance clothes before shutting the drawer, not at all sad to never wear them again. They made her feel like an exhibition, something to stare at. Fake, unhuman.

Realising that she would need to pack things to survive with, she also took her pillow and a blanket, making sure to leave the thin one for her mother. She also took all the cash in her mother's purse, replacing it with monopoly money, purely to insult her intelligence.

After packing a bottle of water and dry biscuits, Ailae took one final look at her only home and stepped out onto the dry ground, garbage bag swung over her shoulder. She walked away from her mother, her job and her friends. She walked away from her old life, ready to start a new one.

Five hours later, Ailae was still walking but had lost track of where she was. Nothing seemed at all familiar to her, and she was positive this wasn't the way they had driven in two weeks ago. But she figured it didn't matter, anywhere was better than the circus. Except… she had lived her whole life at the circus, so she didn't know how to live on the streets. They had never been sightseeing so she didn't know how to interact with people. This fact scared her like no other, so she kept her head down and avoided eye contact.

She walked up to a supermarket, deciding to buy some food for her dinner. Most things were too expensive to be reasonable, so she picked up some half-price bread rolls and some more dry biscuits. After paying for her goods, she left the supermarket and started searching for a reasonable place to stay for the night. She steered away from dark alleys and dead ends, instead searching for somewhere well-lit and near houses. After nearly an hour of searching, Ailae finally found a small park surrounded by houses with street lights. Before settling down for the night, Ailae hesitantly sat on the slide and ate a bread roll and some biscuits. Her stomach rumbled for more, but she knew from movies that she had to ration her food, so she regretfully packed it away.

After deciding that the area was safe enough for one night, she took out her pillow and blanket, and lay down on the children's slide. She tried to fall asleep, but the events of the day were swirling around her head. She was scared about what would happen next, nervous about interacting with other people, and angry at her ex-mother, but she was not regretful. And Ailae knew she would never regret this day, because running from her mother was the smartest decision she had ever made.

Ailae woke to shouting, and confused, she sat up, burying her hands deep within the warmth of the blanket. Her eyes were blurry and at first she thought she was dreaming, but no.

There really were four FBI agents shouting at her and pointing their gun.

"Get your hands out! Put them where I can see them, or I'll shoot!" A big, muscular man shouted with no trace of bluffing. But Ailae saw the quick tightening of his lips, the disbelief. She knew he was surprised at her age, after all she was barely 15. As far as she knew, that was quite young to be living on the streets. But she decided to take advantage of his disbelief, and play the youth card. Conjuring up the most frightened look she could manage (with tears and all) she looked up through her long lashes.

"Why are you pointing a gun at me, scary man? I promise I did cross the road at the lights. Please, can you leave me alone?" Ailae finished whispering, silent tears streaming down her face. She could tell by the loosened grip on all their guns that they had bought the act. She felt her lips twitch, but hid it so well that the cops wouldn't be able to see it.

"We won't shoot you, I promise. Can you please just take your hands out from under the blanket and answer a few questions for me?" The burly man replied, a small, genuine smile on his face.

"Yes, sir" Ailae said, obeying his command. But as the man moved forward to sit beside her she saw what he had been covering before. And she screamed.

"Hey, hey! Calm down I won't hurt you." He cautioned, but Ailae didn't care. She was gasping hysterically, real tears flowing freely now. She was no longer acting the scared little girl, no. She _was _the scared little girl. Ailae barely even registered another FBI agent standing in front of the body, blocking it from her view. She didn't notice the agents trying to calm her down, nor did she notice one of them call an ambulance.

But she did notice when a man with curly hair that she seemed to recognise placed his hand on her shoulder and started chanting soothing words to her. She noticed because she began to feel calm, against all reason. She noticed because this was her skill, and there was no way anyone was going to use it against her. She noticed because she knew who he was.

"Don't you dare!" She snarled at him, and she registered the brief flash of shock go over his face. She figured he was used to hypnotising weak people, but she was far from weak.

"If you even go one more step into hypnotising me, I swear I will do the same to you. And then I will make you reveal all your secrets, in front of all these people."

His eyes widened fractionally, giving her the knowledge she needed; he did have secrets.

"Well, I certainly wouldn't want anyone to know I prefer my tea with warmed milk, now would I?"

"Jane" a lady with dark hair warned. "Don't tease a suspect. And sweetie, what's your name?"

Ailae studied the woman for a moment, deciding what the smartest move would be. Giving away your identity could be dangerous, but at the same time, these were Federal agents. After just a moment, she decided to tell the truth.

"Ailae. And before you ask, no, you may not create a nickname for me, and yes it's my real name, sort of. My mother didn't think I needed a name; Girl Wonder was enough for her. So I named myself and I am pleased with what I chose. Now let's get back to the matter at hand here. Why on earth is there a man lying over there surrounded by blood and why did you wake me...with guns? And why is he here?" She finished, pointing at Jane. The Boy Wonder. He glanced at her curiously, and she knew he was trying to remember if they had met before.

The lady that spoke before was the first to answer.

"My name is Lisbon, and we are investigating a murder, after which the body was dumped here. We found you sleeping here this morning and noticed your garbage bag looked suspicious. You must understand that at the moment, you are a suspect in our investigation."

Ailae almost laughed.

"You may search my bag if you wish. In fact I highly encourage you to. Who knows what I may be hiding? Maybe a sledgehammer? Go ahead. I'll just stand over here."

And so she did. She walked over to the edge of the park, all the while directing her gaze away from the body. She sat down on the bark and looked on, not even acknowledging his presence when Jane sat down beside her.

"Hi, I'm Jane." He introduced needlessly. Ailae glanced at him.

"I know." Was all she said.

"Oh, alright then. So….. want to see a cool trick?" Jane asked, clearing trying to get her to open up. Break the ice, make an impression.

"Ok." She smiled, interested to see what he could do, if the stories she had been told were accurate.

"Alright. Here is a new tissue, don't worry, I haven't used it. Go and hide it somewhere in the park, while I close my eyes. Then I'll find it."

Ailae did as he said and silently made her way over to a park bench, wedging it in between the timber. She checked to make sure he wasn't looking, and then walked around to create more tracks that didn't lead to where she had hidden it. She returned to where Jane was sitting and told him he could open his eyes. He did, and then took her hands in his.

"Don't be alarmed, I am just delving into your mind to find where the tissue is hidden. I need you to clearly think where it is as I move you around. Is that ok?"

Ailae smiled at his cautious explaining, and agreed instantly. She knew what he was going to do, but two could play at that game. She made sure to control her features and create 'micro expressions' of fear when he began steering her to a particular bush, and not when he steered her towards the bench. This way, he would interpret her expression incorrectly. She wished she had a camera to capture his face when he finally would realise he was wrong.

They were really close to the bush now and Ailae started fidgeting her hands. Jane smiled then swooped onto the bush.

"I have found it! Hang on…. What?" He looked at her with a very confused expression when there was nothing there. She laughed openly, guessing that he was not used to being wrong. She knew she wasn't. Walking over to the opposite side of the park, she grabbed the tissue from the bench and made her way back over, still laughing.

"Who are you?"

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	2. Chapter 2

**A/N ****This is a short chapter to fill in some space, but I am posting two at once, so I hope you enjoy it anyway!**

**Disclaimer ****I do not own The Mentalist **

The ambulance arrived shortly after Ailae had finished laughing at Jane, and she allowed the paramedics to lead her over to their van. They checked her over very quickly, determining that she was perfectly healthy and did not need their help. Jane sat by the bush with the tissue in his hand and did not look up once, even as she walked past him to get to the lady that had been introduced to her as Lisbon.

"Excuse me Miss? Do you have any questions or am I free to go?"

"I have a few questions for you, and then I am sure you may leave." She replied with a reassuring smile.

"First, where were you last night?"

Ailae smiled at her. "I was here, sleeping from the hours of late until early."

"ok… Did you hear or see anything?" Lisbon replied after a small pause in which Ailae saw confusion written through her facial expressions.

"No, I did not. I was very tired and slept the entire night. If you had not woken me up with guns, I would probably still be asleep."

"It was necessary, but I am sorry about ruining your beauty sleep." Lisbon remarked, smiling at Ailae's snarky attitude. "And finally, do you know who this man is?" She gestured at the body behind her.

Ailae refused to look at the sickening sight. Instead she locked her jaw and replied tersely. "No, I do not."

"Alright, you may go." Lisbon said with a sigh and Ailae flashed a bright smile before quickly gathering her things and skipping off.

For the next couple of hours, Ailae walked with a little spring in her step, pleased with having fooled the man whom she had been raised to be like. All her life her mother had told her that she was nothing like him, that she was a failure, and would have no future. And all her life she had believed her. But now she knew; knew that she wasn't a failure, and knew that all the pain she had received was for no valid reason. That fact made her seethe, and soon she was back to walking in a broken, dejected manner.

That night was cold and she finished off the food she had with her quickly. There were no parks around her this time, and she knew the one she had slept in the previous night would still be a crime scene. After walking for hours, she knew that if she didn't find somewhere to sleep soon, she would collapse out of exhaustion. Despite her fear of appearing vulnerable, she settled on a bench, happy to be lying down at least. It wasn't long before she fell asleep after all the events of the day.

As she slept, she dreamt. She dreamt of Patrick Jane's shocked face, of the fear she had felt at seeing a dead body for the first time in her life. Her dreams were all of horrifying images, images she wanted to forget.

Then her mother's face invaded her sleep, and Ailae was scared of what she might do to her. Her face was angry and disappointed all in one, making Ailae shy away in fear.

"You didn't listen to me, your own mother. You are a failure…." Her mother's face was doubling, tripling, until there were hundreds of them, surrounding her.

"What do you expect is going to happen? You'll die on the streets…"

"NO!" Ailae shouted, bolting awake suddenly. She had tears streaming down her face and she was shaking violently from the cold. She wished she were in a bed, with warm sheets. She wanted to be able to get up and eat something to satisfy her hunger. But she couldn't, and that realisation made Ailae cry harder than before. It was a long time before she fell back asleep.

When she awoke the next morning, Ailae instantly knew something was wrong. Her head hurt and her throat felt like it was on fire, not to mention the heat she felt despite the cold weather. With a groan, she realised she was sick.

The day was not easy, as she had no food or water left. The cold she had caught was wracking her body with coughs, and she had nothing to soothe it. Walking around aimlessly, asking people for money, she wondered what she was going to do with her life. Being too young to get a job, she knew she would have to rely on other's donations and money to survive. But they were not generous, and hours of asking resulted in only $5. Deciding she needed food and water if she had any hope of surviving, she grudgingly walked past the medicine store to the supermarket.

Her dinner that night consisted of bread and an apple, along with a bottle of water. Too tired and miserable to care about her safety anymore, she settled down at the base of a tree for the night. Her sleep was just as un-peaceful as the night before.

Ailae continued living like this for a week, but by the end of it, she knew she couldn't last much longer. She was severely dehydrated and ill, and she suspected that her cold was getting worse. She also hadn't eaten much and was losing weight rapidly. Ailae was afraid of what she should do next.

She was sitting on a bench in a park, resting after asking for money all afternoon. It was quite peaceful, and she felt herself drifting off to the sounds of the birds. But then she was shocked awake by a rough hand on her shoulder, spinning her around and almost knocking her off the seat. She cried out in surprise.

"You are under arrest for the murder of Katherine Curbi, your mother." Said a voice she recognised.

"Agent Lisbon?" She gasped.

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	3. Chapter 3

**A/N ****It's been a while, but after constant badgering from a friend of mine, I actually finished this chapter. Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own The Mentalist, as much as I wish I did!**

The ride to the CBI headquarters was uneventful. Jane kept grinning like an idiot in the front seat and Lisbon sat with a scowl as she drove. Ailae was in the back, handcuffed, sitting shocked and angry, all the while trying to hide her illness lest she seem weak. She was shocked that her mother was dead, murdered. While she couldn't exactly say the news saddened her, it did take her by surprise. But she was also incredibly angry. It was one thing for her mother to be murdered, but to be accused of murdering her was something Ailae didn't take happily. She refused to speak to the agents in the front.

The drive was long, however, so she soon found herself with nothing to occupy herself with. She considered talking, but decided against it immediately as her throat was scratchy and sore and she was too angry to speak…civilly. She also thought about reciting her favourite book in her head but found she wasn't in the mood for such trivial activities. Instead she decided to break out of the handcuffs, because they were really annoying her and she wanted a challenge.

This was one of the very first things her mother had taught her, after her first lecture on The Boy Wonder. It had taken her many months to be even close to her mother's expectations, but she had soon perfected the trick. It was an old habit of hers to keep a few paperclips in her jacket, as they became useful in many situations; and this was one of them.

Concentrating on picking the lock and on staying inconspicuous was a hard task, but Ailae managed fine. She suspected once or twice that Jane was sneaking looks at her, with a small grin on his face. But Lisbon stayed completely unaware. She finally managed to unlock the handcuffs and she took them off her wrists gratefully. Pushing the handcuffs to the side, she brought her sore wrists in front of her to rest on her lap.

The rest of the trip was over quickly. They pulled into a parking lot, and almost immediately Jane and Lisbon got out of the car. They stood to the side, and Jane seemed to be engaging her in a discussion. Whatever he was saying, Lisbon did not like as she began scolding him loudly. Ailae considered her options. On one hand, she was arrested for the murder of her mother and was thought to be detained in the car. But on the other hand, she was starting to get bored, her hands were free and it wasn't like she was going to run away. She made up her mind quickly.

Opening the door quietly and shutting it behind her, she skipped over to where Jane and Lisbon were arguing. He did not seem surprised to see her out of the car and without handcuffs, and Lisbon seemed too angry to really comprehend what was happening at first.

"Hey guys. How's things?" Ailae asked casually, as though she were talking to her friends.

Jane shrugged. "Meh, same old, same old."

Lisbon glared at him, still furious over what they had been arguing about. "You, shut up." She demanded, pointing at Jane. "And you," She glanced at Ailae "just wait until I am finished debating with Jane about a murderer in our car that he wants to set free! Are you dumb Jane?" She screamed at him, completely unaware of the sniggering coming from Ailae. This agent really was not very attentive.

It took only a few seconds more for Lisbon to realise. Her eyes widened first in shock, then anger. She quickly moved into action, restraining Ailae and throwing her to the ground. Ailae cried out in surprise, then gasped in pain as her shoulder slammed into the concrete.

"Lisbon, calm down!" Jane yelled, watching uselessly as she restrained the cursing girl.

"Get your hands off me, you crazy woman! I didn't do anything! LET GO!" Ailae yelled, fighting the weight that kept her pinned while trying to jostle her shoulder the least she could.

"Stop resisting and this won't hurt as much!" Lisbon yelled back, just as forcefully. Ailae, overcome by the pain in her shoulder, stopped struggling. She grumpily allowed Lisbon to sit her up before she stood to her feet, sending death glares at the older agent steadily. Lisbon, to Ailae's dismay, was not fazed.

"And there you have a first-hand experience as to why to never piss off dear Lisbon." Jane remarked with a grin.

* * *

><p>Agent Lisbon, Jane and Ailae were all seated in the small questioning room. Ailae was still exceptionally angry at Lisbon for tackling her to the ground. She was also unbelievably irritated with the Boy Wonder's ridiculous, eternal grin and annoyed at herself for being sick. It took all of her self-control to not cough aloud or show the increasing shivers.<p>

"So what is this really about anyway? You say my mother was murdered. Why do you think it was my fault? And how on earth did you find me?" Ailae finally said, unable to stand the rustling of papers any longer. She could tell by the way that Lisbon kept glancing at her that the action was meant to intimidate, and that she actually expected it to work. Unfortunately, her relaxed demeanour (even shoulders, slow blinks, lack of fiddling) also suggested she was not in any hurry.

"We found your mother this morning, murdered in her bed with a kitchen knife. Witnesses say that they saw you two fighting more than a week ago and that they hadn't seen either of you since. Most assumed that you had both left town for a little while, and accepted it. It wasn't until this morning that the boss of your mother's company went inside the caravan and found her." Lisbon waited for the news to sink in before continuing.

Ailae was thoroughly shocked, and nearly dropped the icepack that she held on her shoulder. Her mother was truly, really dead. Murdered. And with a kitchen knife! Ailae hated her mother, but the image that triggered was repulsive and she instantly felt sorry for the woman. Startled, Ailae realised that there were tears forming in her eyes even though she wasn't particularly sad. She looked up, blinking, and noticed a pair of inquisitive eyes staring into her. Ailae instantly took control of her body language and tone, determined not to give the Boy Wonder any information she did not want him to have.

Lisbon took her looking back up as a sign to continue, and did so without further delay.

"We had a look around the caravan and noticed that there were no images of you anywhere and that you had left a tattered diary beneath your diary." Ailae looked up and glared at Lisbon, instantly defensive of what they may have found.

"There were many threats in this diary, the sort of things you wouldn't expect to find in a normal teens diary."

Ailae considered the silence that followed as an invitation to speak, and irritated that they had based this accusation on so little, decided to be truthful – to an extent.

"And that would be because I am no ordinary teen. Ordinary teens go to High School, have boyfriends, get their first job at a sandwich shop, and stress about curfew. Not me. I don't have those luxuries." She spat out the last word venomously and glared at Jane, who did seem slightly shocked. Lisbon noticed the silent exchange but wisely decided not to bring it up yet.

"And why is that?"

"I'm afraid that is none of your business."

Lisbon stared at Ailae, before rising up to inform her that it was, in fact, her business. But Jane cut her off before she could even start, as though he knew what she was going to say.

"Ailae, let's move away from that for a moment. There are still things we haven't told you. We, well that's to say Lisbon, thinks there are other reasons why you killed your mother. I am sure you remember the man that we first met you near? His name was Justin Coile."

Ailae's eyes widened before she could stop them at the familiar name.

"Do you know him?"

"Yes."

"Where did you meet him before?"

"At work."

"Ailae, we are not going to get anywhere with these half answers. You say you didn't kill your mother? Prove it." Lisbon urged.

"Fine" Ailae sighed "Mr Coile used to be the boss at the carnival that I have trained with since the age of four and worked for since the age of nine. I hated him, he made my childhood a living nightmare. I was therefore exceptionally glad when he was finally replaced with the new boss. Not that he is much better." She explained, keeping a straight face and not looking at Jane. He was not to be ignored for long though.

"May I hold your hand?" He asked.

"So you can measure the tension of my muscles to tell if I am lying? Ha, not likely." She replied, folding her hands beneath the table in an act of defiance. To her surprise, he actually smiled.

"Lisbon, I am going to ask you to hold off on the questioning for just a minute. I have some of my own." He said, ignoring the looks Lisbon sent him.

"So, Miss Girl Wonder. Yes, I found out about that, no need to look so offended. With all the billboards around, it wasn't that hard. I find it very interesting indeed that a girl of your age knows so many handy tricks and has such control over her body language, as annoying as it is for me." He stopped, thoughtful for a moment. "I understand that your life can't have been all that fulfilling so far, growing up amongst Carnie Folk isn't the ideal childhood. I can understand why you resented the man who ran the business and I can certainly understand your hateful feelings towards your less than caring mother. What I don't understand, however, is why you hate me so much?"

His inquisitive tone and casual talk of her mother made something in Ailae that she normally kept in close control snap with a vengeance.

"Why do I hate you? Why do I, Girl Wonder, hate you, Boy Wonder? Has it not already clicked in that 'perfect' and 'intelligent' mind of yours? Why do you think I am even in this restricting business to begin with? You made your father so much money with your antics and shows. People came from all over the country to see you! It didn't matter that everything you did was deceptive and for show, you were a magnet for money. And can you guess what my mother loves more than anything in the world, even me? Yes, yes, you got. Congratulations! Money… Stupid, shallow money!"

Ailae stopped for a moment, gauging Jane's reaction. He looked as though he had something to say, but Ailae's temper had not fully ran itself out yet.

"And so, from the first moment she could, she placed me into the business. We left our small house to move into a ratty caravan that leaked at the sign of rain and had one bed. But comfort was overrated, because we were going to be millionaires! Idiotic Coile was the one who placed the idea in her simple mind to being with! He drilled into her the story of The Boy Winder, you. How you had brought so much money and success. And now the carnival continued as strong as ever, even with you gone. He had the same vision, except for me. I was now the Girl Wonder.

I was raised to treat you as some bloody god. Everything you did, I had to do. You did readings for cancer patients, so I did too. You did blind object readings, so I did them too. You escaped from awkward positions like some second-rated Houdini, so I did too. You had been successful, then so was I.

And yet, despite the money and success, I still wasn't perfect. Everything I did was never as good as you had done it. My mother spent a good deal of the money on alcohol and drugs, and never a cent on me. I was supposed to be self-sufficient, because you had been. You became an excuse for people to use me as a slave! I wasn't even my own person, just some rendition of you.

Oh, and can you guess what happened as I earned more money? Yep, Mum bought more junk, and then, surprise surprise, became abusive. The last two years have been endless days of deception, pain, insults, and then more pain. And the reason? You. That, Mr. Jane is why I hate you so much. You and your stupid act."

There was a painful silence from the two adults. Ailae had long since stopped trying to prevent the tears from streaming down her face and leaving trails. And with the tears came the painful coughs and strong shivers that she could no longer deny.

"I will get you some blankets and medicine. Jane…stay here with her." Lisbon said quietly looking slightly upset at the news she had just been told.

Jane was staring intently at Ailae, pain evident in his facial expression.

"Ailae, I'm sorry. I never knew about any of this. If I did, trust me on the fact that I would have tried to shield everyone from the memory of the Boy Wonder. You have to know I did it all against my will too. But that is no excuse for what those people did to you."

And that was all it took for Ailae to break into painful sobs. Jane looked horrified at first and unsure what to do. But it wasn't long before he went to the sobbing girl and pulled her into his arms, trying in any way to comfort her. Ailae accepted the comfort gratefully.

"I am really sorry to do this to you, but I need you to confirm one thing. Did you mother physically abuse you?"

Ailae barely hesitated. "Yes."

* * *

><p>It was two hours later and Ailae was still seated in the questioning room. She had tried to protest against being here many times since the end of the interview, but in truth, she was much happier than on the streets. She had several blankets piled upon her tiny frame and hot soup on the table for dinner. She also was given regular cold medicine that was already making an obvious difference to her health.<p>

The end of the interview had cleared up some questions she had. After breaking down in front of Jane, coming to the conclusion that he was an alright person and accepting that it was in no way his fault for how she had been treated, Lisbon had returned.

Jane had made some snarky comment about perfect timing, referring (Ailae had guessed) to the fact that she had completely disappeared during the water-works and returned when the coast was clear. Ailae didn't blame her though, after all, teens crying can be scary business.

She had explained without detail that Ailae's mother and Mr Coile were killed the same way and with the same weapon. She also explained how witnesses had reported her hatred of both of them, along with some vague comments about a quick changing mood. Apparently, people thought Ailae was capable of murder. She was positively thrilled with the new reputation.

But she couldn't deny their reasoning, she did look like a reasonable suspect. Ailae did, however, suspect there was something being hidden from her knowledge due to Lisbon's skittish eyes whenever more detailed questions arose. Jane, though, remained adamant that the young girl hadn't killed anyone. And to Ailae's horror, his faith in her made her feel safer.

But it was getting late, and Ailae was beginning to wonder if the agents had forgotten she was there. It wouldn't be surprising really, as there were sure to be more interesting criminals to deal with that didn't have embarrassing breakdowns while trying to defend emotions. She was just planning a way to get all their attention back on her by hypnotising the guard into doing the chicken dance around the building's hallways when a young, red-haired agent entered the room.

"Hey there, I'm Grace." She said, kindness radiating off her in waves. Ailae stood up and shook the outstretched hand with a genuine smile on her face.

"Hi, I'm Ailae, also known as Miss Water-Works." This nickname earned a laugh from Grace.

"Well nice to meet you. Considering you will be staying the night, I thought I would bring you some stuff. I have a blow up mattress here, some pillows and something for you to change into. IS that enough?"

Ailae studied the lady carefully. She seemed genuinely kind and welcoming, something that Ailae had sorely missed. She was also touched and almost speechless from the kind act.

"Um, yes. Thank you. Thank you so much."

Together they set up the bed in a corner that was in the line of the heater's air pathway. The task only took a matter of minutes, but the two girls chatted away happily. Ailae was sad when the agent had to go, and by the half-hearted smiles Grace gave as she left for the night, Ailae guessed she was too.

After changing into the fleece pyjamas and turning off the lights, Ailae settled down to the first real night's sleep she had had in a long time with a content smile on her face.

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